PMD BOOK I: Light within Chaos
by Silent Treecko
Summary: New adventure, new place and more pokemon! An Oshawott with dreams to enter a renowned pokemon team met a Snivy with an unknown past. Follow their adventures as they discover places and help others.
1. A Mystery

**A/N: Ahem… This story is another Mystery Dungeon story with lots of twist. I can say that one of those twists is that the fifth generation pokémon is involved. Anyway, to those who have read my first Mystery Dungeon story, I hope you enjoyed that story and I'll try my best on this one. To those who have seen this story first time, I hope you'll continue reading until the end and enjoy it all the while. Therefore, here goes the first chapter of my story, Light within Chaos.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon, the pokémon involved in this story and the games that had been invented by you-know-who so far. I only own this story and the ideas that emerged from my creative mind. Those ideas include names given to the pokémon, new places where most of the plots will happen and etc. Some are adapted from the game and it's from the game, so I don't own that original idea and… Let's just get into the story. **

**Also, take note of the format that I will use in this story.**

**For speeches: "What the pokémon said. 'Quotation or emphasis (sometimes included)," the pokémon said.**

** OR**

** The pokémon said, "What the pokémon said with 'Quotation or emphasis sometimes'."**

**For thoughts: 'What the pokémon was thinking,' the pokémon said.**

** OR**

** The pokémon thought, 'What the pokémon was thinking.'**

**For flashbacks: **_**The whole or part of the flashback will be in italics.**_

**Anyway, no more delays and on here's the chapter.**

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Chapter 1: A Mystery

An Oshawott named Wilfred climbed up a mountain. It is noticeable that the sun was setting down and almost gone. With that in mind, Wilfred hurried and climbed up to his favorite spot to watch the sunset like he always do. As he reached the said spot, which was at the top of the mountain, he sat down and gazed at the big star. Every time he watched the sunset, he always thought about the events that happened to him today. He might not have been too happy about it but he cherished the time he had. He sighed a bit to himself before he said "I shouldn't have been that timid and clumsy."

As he continued gazing at the sunset, he sighed again for the second time. He dreamt of becoming a part of a renowned team that helped countless of pokémon but he wasn't even near the process since he's timid. Making one is also hard for him since these teams require at least two pokémon or a high-level pokémon who passed the test to become a one-man team. He sighed for the third time as he thought if he'd be able to join one of the teams. To him, it's an impossible dream. The sun was almost gone when Wilfred felt something strange. The air suddenly changed from a very gentle breeze to a strong gust of wind. The space in above Wilfred seemed to be distorted.

"What's going on?!" he shouted aloud.

He went towards the edge of the cliff to see the space where the distortion is more prominent. A huge, black hole appeared out of nowhere which scared Wilfred but he forced himself to stay because of either his curiosity or it's just he can't move his feet. Then, something green hit him and he fell into the ground. He growled in pain and he inspected the thing that hit him and realized that it's a Snivy. Wilfred pushed the Snivy off him and he checked the grass-type. The Snivy was unconscious but seems to be okay.

"Hey, wake up!" Wilfred tried to wake the Snivy but he failed to do so. Wilfred sighed and thought about what to do. He thought that it'll get dark soon and asking for help will be risky since the nearest place he can ask is at the town that is some meters away from the base of the mountain. In addition, he'd doubt that the Snivy would be safe alone.

"I guess there's no other choice," Wilfred said to himself.

He stretched his arms and tried to carry the Snivy. He grunted at the grass snake's weight but he managed to carry the Snivy in a piggyback manner. He went back to his place with the Snivy on his back. Wilfred stopped once in a while to recover some stamina and strength and resumed afterwards. The night stars were already out by the time he reached his little abode. He placed the Snivy on his bed since he doesn't have any extra bed. He checked on the Snivy again and he noticed that the grass-type's temperature was higher than normal. He quickly grabbed some Oran Berries and herbs to tend to the Snivy's fever in his storage. He quickly produced a medicine and some berry juice. After doing so, he gave the Snivy the medicine first before the Snivy. The Snivy was a little bit conscious and drank the medicine and the juice that Wilfred gave. Then, Wilfred grabbed some large leaves and placed it on the Snivy's body to act as a blanket.

"Sleep well," Wilfred said before he grabbed the same kind of leaves and sat at the den's entrance before he covered himself with the said leaves. The next day, Wilfred woke up with a loud yawn and he wondered why he was sitting at the entrance before he remembered that he had a guest. He quickly stood up and checked on the Snivy who was sound asleep and he was glad that the grass-type's temperature went back to normal.

"Good grief," Wilfred said. Then, his stomach barked at him and he remembered that he hasn't eaten anything yet.

"Better get something to eat for the both of us," Wilfred said and he went out to find some fresh berries at the nearby berry bushes. After a while, the Snivy woke up and looked around the place. He noticed that he's in an unfamiliar place. He stood up and inspected the place and he can see that there is an ocean nearby and the cave he was in told him that someone lived here. He can also feel the gentle breeze of the salty air. After he saw the place, Snivy was about to explore outside when Wilfred came with some berries. Wilfred was glad to see the Snivy, who was just silent.

"Glad you're okay," Wilfred said but the Snivy was just silent. Wilfred didn't know what to do until an idea hit him. Then, he asked "So, do you know where you came from?" and the Snivy thought about it for a while but he can't give any answer.

"Never mind. By the way, I'm Wilfred," Wilfred said. "And you are?"

Again, the Snivy thought about it for a while but like before, he couldn't give any answer.

"What?! You don't know your name?" Wilfred asked while in shock and Snivy gave a plain yes.

"This isn't good," Wilfred said. "Well, since you don't know your name, I'll just call you Snivy for a while."

"Snivy?" the Snivy asked in curiosity.

"Yes. You're a Snivy obviously. Come on, that's basic stuff for you," Wilfred said.

"First time I've heard it," Snivy said.

"Seriously?" Wilfred asked in disbelief and the Snivy's reply was a yes.

"Do you have amnesia or something?" Wilfred asked and he received another question about amnesia from the Snivy. Wilfred sighed and said "That's not good. Let's see…"

Wilfred was in deep thought for a while before another idea came to his mind.

"Say, I'll tell you how I found you and it might trigger some memories," Wilfred said and the Snivy didn't utter a word. Wilfred explained the events that transpired back then. After that, he asked "So, can you remember anything now?"

Snivy was silent for a while before he said no. "Not a single thing?" Wilfred asked and he received the same answer.

"Well, at least you know how to communicate," Wilfred said and he thought about what to do and another idea came to his mind.

"I know! I'll take you to Central Town! Maybe someone there knows you," Wilfred said.

"Central Town?" Snivy said.

"It's a town not too far from here. It's just some minute walk from here. Come on! Let's go!" Wilfred said.

Wilfred went ahead and Snivy followed him to Central Town.

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**A/N: End of this chapter. The next chapter might take a while because I'll be doing some advanced planning on this story so please wait with patience. Anyway, please review.**


	2. Central Town

Ch. 2: Central Town

Snivy and Wilfred entered the gates of a town guarded by two Escavaliers. Snivy looked at different directions, unfamiliar to the place.

"This is Central Town," the Oshawott introduced. "This is the main town around these parts and it's heavily guarded."

Snivy was just silent when Wilfred spoke.

"Let's go," Wilfred went ahead and Snivy followed. As they walked by, a crowd came and went.

"What a crowd," Snivy commented.

"That's just an ordinary event here," Wilfred said. "You'll always see crowds of crowds here."

Then they continued to walk. They passed through many structures and they stopped after they passed Duskull's bank.

"By the way, since you can't remember quit much, I'll re-introduce myself. I'm Wilfred, a water type and an…"

"Oshawott," Snivy suddenly said.

"Hey! So you do know your pokémon," Wilfred said.

"I don't know. It just suddenly came to me," Snivy said and paused for a while before he said, "I'm a Snivy, a grass type, right?"

"That's right! I think you're starting to remember things," Wilfred said.

"Still, I don't know my name," Snivy said.

"Don't worry! You'll get into it in no time!" Wilfred said.

They started moving again around the town. Then they passed a blue and a yellow pokémon.

"Riolu and Pikachu," Snivy said.

Then, Wilfred realized something.

"They're an exploration team!" Wilfred said with admiration in his eyes. Snivy was confused on the word and he asked about it.

"Exploration teams do exploration and rescue missions but majorly do the former one. There are also rescue teams, who focus on rescue missions," Wilfred explained.

"How did you know that they're an exploration team?" Snivy asked.

"Their bag is fit for explorations and their badge is classified as an explorer's badge," Wilfred explained.

"Explorer's badge?" Snivy asked.

"Yes. A circular badge with a pair of wings and a circular gemstone that represent's their rank," Wilfred said.

"What's a rank?" Snivy asked.

"It's the team's level of experience and achievements!" Wilfred said. "In short, it determines how great the team is."

"Oh," Snivy said. "You do know a lot about these things."

"Well, you can say that I'm used to these things," Wilfred said. "Come on, we still need to go to other places."

Wilfred and Snivy visited many places, including Kanghaskan's Storage, Kecleon Market, Xatu's Appraisal, Electivire's Link Shop, Chansey's Day Care, Marowak's Dojo, Shelmet's Trade Shop, Vannilite's Ice Cream Shop, Spinda's Café, Delibird's Gift Shop, Sawk's Arena, Gallade's Training Area and many more. The Oshawott introduced this places to the Snivy and he asked everyone if they know a certain Snivy but all of them gave a negative response. Wilfred sighed.

"I'm sorry, Snivy," Wilfred said. "I asked everyone but no one seems to know about you."

The Snivy did not mutter a single word.

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**A/N: End of chapter. I know it is short but… oh well. The next chapter will be updated soon and I'll try to fill in more words. Anyway, please review.**


	3. Perception

Ch. 3: Perception

Wilfred was in deep thought while he was walking with Snivy, who was looking around at different directions. After he looked at different places, Snivy looked back at the Oshawott who was still in deep thought. When they're about to take a right turn, Snivy supported the Oshawott, who didn't noticed the right turn they are going to take, by guiding him to take the right turn. Both of them took the right turn as they normally would and Snivy just watched the Oshawott who was walking with eyes closed and in deep thought. The grass-type just followed Wilfred since he has nothing else better to do.

"I've got it!" Wilfred suddenly said and startled some nearby pokémon. "Why don't we ask some guild members?"

Snivy did not utter any word about Wilfred's idea.

"Come on! Let's find some guild members!" Wilfred ran back to the corner of the street and he bumped into a green pokémon. He quickly recovered and apologized for what happened. Snivy ran and stopped beside the Oshawott.

"A Pansage," Snivy said.

"Oh! It's Wilfred," the Pansage said.

"Mark?" Wilfred just realized whom he just bumped into. "Just in time!"

"Just in time for what?" Mark the Pansage asked.

Just then, Mark noticed the Snivy.

"Hey, is he your friend? Wait! Is he going to be your teammate, huh?!" Mark asked.

"No. You see…" Wilfred explained how things happened and how he ended up helping the Snivy. Mark understood all of it and he felt sorry for the Snivy.

"Speaking of teammates, where's Mincy?" Wilfred asked.

"She's doing some errands and we're going to meet later," Mark said. "Going somewhere, Wilfred?"

"Yeah. That reminds me—do you know any Snivy that might fight the descriptions of my friend here?" Wilfred asked.

"No. Actually, it's my first time seeing a Snivy up close," Mark said. "Maybe the others might know a thing or two."

"Oh…" Wilfred said. "Thanks by the way."

"Don't mention it," Mark said. "See you soon!"

Mark went past Snivy and walked the road that was straight ahead. Then, Wilfred noticed that Snivy was spacing out.

"Hey! You okay?" Wilfred snapped Snivy back into reality. "Why are you spacing out like that?"

"I—don't know," Snivy said. Wilfred noticed that Snivy was sweating.

"Is it hot today?" Wilfred asked. "I don't think anyone will sweat just by standing at this nice weather."

"I don't know but I felt something hot a while ago," Snivy said.

"I didn't felt anything like that," the Oshawott said. "Why don't we take a short break? Maybe you're just tired."

"…" Snivy just stayed silent and he followed Wilfred to a nearby ice cream shop. Wilfred bought two ice drops, a green one for Snivy and an ocean-blue one for himself.

"What is this?" Snivy asked as he accepted the cold food from the Oshawott.

"It's an ice drop. My ice drop is in Ocean Salt flavor," Wilfred said. "And yours is a Grass Mint ice drop."

Snivy looked at his ice drop and stared at it for a while before he looked back to the Oshawott who took a bite from his ice drop and he was delighted at the ice cream's flavor.

"Sweet yet salty like always," Wilfred said and he took another bite. Snivy looked back at his ice drop, which was starting to melt, and decided to take a bite out of it. The sweet flavor exploded in his mouth with an added mint effect afterwards made the Snivy smile as he took another bite from his ice drop.

"I knew that you'd like it," Wilfred said.

Both of them ate and enjoyed their ice drops until it is all gone. After they disposed the ice cream sticks into a nearby trash can, they looked around and asked a bunch of teams about the Snivy's identity but to no avail. They ended up taking a break at the town's square, which is located at the center of Central Town.

"What should we do now? No one knows anything about you and they haven't met a Snivy before too," Wilfred said.

Snivy just stood beside Wilfred and he is silent the whole time. After a moment, Snivy saw something. A dark sphere moved across the air and towards a green creature besides a blue one, which Snivy recognized as an Oshawott. He cannot tell who exactly the green one is since the green one was facing the other way. Then, everything went black and his sight returned after a second. He saw some pokémon moving around the town's square.

'What was that?' Snivy thought after he saw the strange scene.

"Why are you sweating again?" Oshawott said and Snivy faced him. "It isn't really that hot here," Wilfred added.

Just then, Snivy felt something strange, which gave him some goose bumps. His instincts told him to duck quickly and he did just that. Not a moment too soon, a dark sphere almost touched the Snivy's head and it continued moving in the air until it exploded due to a collision with a blade formed by some kind of energy.

"Hey! That's a Shadow Ball and Psycho Cut!" Wilfred said.

"What—are those?" Snivy asked after he stood up.

"Oh right," Wilfred realized Snivy's condition and thought of a good explanation. Then, he said, "These are special attacks that we pokémon can do. These special attacks have a lot of variety and some of these moves can only be learned by a certain pokémon. They can be pretty nasty sometimes."

Snivy thought about it for a while and after a moment, he said, "I don't think I can do those."

Wilfred tried to encourage the Snivy and said, "That's not true! Every pokémon can learn a certain move although it requires training and experience."

Snivy still doubted himself and Wilfred remembered something.

"By the way, where did that Shadow Ball came from?" Wilfred said.

Just then, someone shouted, "I'm very sorry!" Both of them turned around and saw a jet-black pokémon. Wilfred was the first to react. As the pokémon approached him, he said, "Cindy?"

"Wait! Is that you Wilfred?" the Zorua said as she fully stopped right in front of the Oshawott.

"Sure am!" Wilfred happily said. "Anyway, where's Elaine?"

"Looking for me?" an incoming Vulpix said.

"Speaking of the devil," Wilfred suddenly said.

"WHAT did you say?" Elaine the Vulpix said as she glared at Wilfred.

"Don't mind him, Elaine," Cindy the Zorua said. Just then, she noticed the Snivy beside Wilfred. Curious, she asked who was with the Oshawott.

"Well, that's the problem. You see…" Wilfred explained to the two females about the situation. The two of them felt bad for what happened and Cindy was the one who was most affected.

"I'm sorry that I asked," Cindy said and she looked to the Snivy, whose attention was not on the group but on a different direction.

"He's just like that," Wilfred said. "Anyway, do you know any possible information that might connect him with someone?"

The two replied negatively, which made the Oshawott sigh for the umpteenth time. Then, Cindy recalled something, which hit her curiosity.

"So, if Snivy can't recall anything, how did he dodged my attack like he's been doing it for quite a while," Cindy said which made Wilfred realize it as well.

"Hey! You're right!" Wilfred said and he caught the attention of the Snivy. Wilfred asked the Snivy about it and the latter thought about it for a while before he said, "It's kinda like my instincts told me."

"What a strong instinct," Elaine commented.

"I agree," Cindy said.

"That's a pretty good thing to have," Wilfred said.

"Now that I remember, I think I saw it before it happened," Snivy added, which surprised the others.

"What?!" Wilfred clearly shouted.

"That's out of the ordinary!" Cindy commented.

"It's something I've never heard before," Elaine said.

"Are you sure about it?" Wilfred asked and Snivy had a silent moment for him to have some deep thoughts. Then, he said, "I'm—not that sure."

The other three were quite depressed when they heard that.

"Oh well," Cindy said.

"Maybe you're just daydreaming," Wilfred said.

"For once, I'd have to agree with this Oshawott," Elaine said.

Then, they noticed that Snivy was not on his original position. Wilfred saw Snivy, who stood right in front of a tree near a building. The other three approached the Snivy and watched the Snivy, who was staring at the tree.

"What are you doing?" Elaine said and she approached the Snivy.

"Wait, Elaine!" Cindy said and she stopped the Vulpix from advancing further.

"What is it?" Elaine said.

"He might have remembered something so don't disturb him," Cindy said, which made Elaine settle down and the three of them went silent as they watched the Snivy. Snivy still stared at the said tree for quite a while. Elaine was getting impatient but Cindy calmed her down. Then, Snivy stepped backwards a bit and the other three noticed it.

"What's wrong, Sn…" Wilfred was about to move closer to Snivy but then, a vine extended from the Snivy and it swept the other tree aside. Just then, there was a loud crash. The other three recovered and Elaine was angry about being pushed aside but then, she and the other two realized that a tree fell into their original position. They were shocked about it and they noticed the Snivy, who was on the ground. Wilfred helped Snivy to stand up. Snivy was a little bit shaken but he regained balance.

"Wow! Did you save us there?" Wilfred said.

"Thanks a lot!" Cindy gratefully said.

"I'm pretty sure a vine pushed us out of the way," Elaine said after she went near Cindy.

"Vine? Hey! Maybe Snivy knows Vine Whip!" Wilfred said.

"Vine Whip?" Snivy asked.

"Yeah. Vine Whip is a move that you can learn," Cindy added.

"I—don't know if I did that or not," Snivy said.

"Come on! Try to remember that time when you used it," Wilfred encouraged the Snivy and the grass-type thought about it for a while and then, two vines extended behind him and went in front of him.

"That's it! It's Vine Whip," Cindy gladly said.

"It does feel like a part of me," Snivy said and suddenly, Snivy closed his eyes and he growled in pain while his vines pressed his head. Wilfred saw this and tried to help him.

"Snivy, please calm down," Wilfred said.

"I can't! It hurts!" Snivy said as he continued to suppress his pain.

"Snivy, take some deep breaths," Wilfred said and Snivy did what the Oshawott said. He did some inhales and exhales but the pain still lingered.

"Just continued and don't even think about the pain. Cindy, do you have those pain killer herbs?" Wilfred said and Snivy followed what he said.

"No. I don't have any right now," Cindy said.

Then, the pain slowly faded and Snivy retracted his vines but his deep breaths continued.

"Here's an Oran Berry just to be sure," Cindy said.

"Thanks," Snivy said and took a bite out of the berry before he stopped and remembered something.

"You okay?" Wilfred asked.

"I think I remembered a name," Snivy said.

"What name?" Wilfred asked.

"Jason," Snivy said and the others thought about it.

"Never heard that name before," Elaine said.

"Me too," Cindy added.

"Wait! If that's the first name you remembered, then it's your name!" Wilfred said.

"My name?" Snivy asked.

"Makes sense, you know," Cindy said.

"And that will help us to search more information about you," Wilfred said. "We could just ask if they know someone named Jason."

"So my name's Jason?" Snivy asked.

"We'll call you by that name. It's not that good to always call you Snivy all the time," Cindy said.

"Okay," Jason the Snivy said.

"Now, let's ask anyone if they know you," Wilfred said.

"We'll help too," Cindy said.

"We?" Elaine said.

"Come on! We have nothing else better to do," Cindy said.

"Alright. As long as I stay distant from Wilfred," Elaine said.

"Then let's go!" Wilfred said and he and the others walked around and asked everyone around about Jason.

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**A/N: End of chapter. More information revealed XD. Anyway, wait for the next chapter guys! Also, I saw the upcoming Third Mystery Dungeon! It is called Magnagate and the Infinite Labyrinth. But, it's on Nintendo 3DS ~.~ (Maybe I should earn some money to buy 3DS XD). Anyway, if you want to know more, check your favorite pokémon site (mine's serebii). Anyway, please review!**


	4. Partners

**A/N: Sorry for the late update. I had been busy in school and now that it is our semester break, I can finally continue to update my stories. Anyway, please read and review. Reviews are appreciated.**

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Ch. 4: Partners

After a fruitless search, Wilfred and Jason said their goodbyes to Elaine and Cindy. Then, the Snivy and Oshawott went back into the latter's home. Sunset came by and went and Jason witnessed the beautiful scene that unfolded on the mountain at the west.

"Dusk sure came by quickly, just like memories," Jason said. "But still, I can't remember much yet."

"Hey! Are you a poet or what?" Wilfred said. "Anyway, your room is ready."

Both of them went inside the cave and into another naturally built room. The room was quite spacious. At the corner of the room, there's a bed covered in leaves. A carved window is on the wall parallel to the entrance of the room. An empty shelf is beneath the said window. The moon's light, which came through the window, was just enough to light the room.

"I did my best," Wilfred said while he scratched his head.

"It's nice," Jason said.

"Thanks," Wilfred said.

Jason tested the bed and it was just perfectly soft.

"If you need anything, I'll be in my room," Wilfred said and left the room. Jason checked the details of the bed, where he saw three layers of big leaves and a hefty amount of hay piled beneath the leaves. Then, he laid himself down on his bed and tried to sleep but things ran through his mind. Questions like who he really is and many other things are on his mind. He also remembered the events that happened earlier and he had a flashback.

"_Hey, is he your friend? Wait! Is he going to be your teammate, huh?" Mark the Pansage asked._

Then he had another.

"_Exploration teams do exploration and rescue missions but majorly do the former one. There are also rescue teams, who focus on rescue missions," Wilfred explained._

Jason thought about it for a while and fell asleep in the process. The next day, Wilfred woke up from his bed. He groggily walked out of his room and he quickly saw a figure at the beach. He went to the mouth of the cave and he noticed that it was Jason, who was staring at the sunrise. Wilfred approached Jason slowly and snapped him out of his thoughts.

"You seem to be up so early in the morning," Wilfred said.

Jason just quietly watched the sunrise and Wilfred followed Jason's example. They watched the sun and the sea with reflected rays coming from the sun. Then, Jason asked a question.

"Wilfred, what is a teammate?" Jason asked.

"Well, a teammate is your partner in your team," Wilfred said.

"Partner?" Jason asked.

"Partner is like the person that you trust," Wilfred explained. "Since your partner is the one who you'll work with on missions, it's important that you have a strong trust."

"I see," Jason said. "I wonder how it works."

"Why don't we eat first?" Wilfred said. "Then, I'd like to introduce a place to you."

Jason gave Wilfred a nod and both of them went back to eat breakfast. After that, they went into central town and into a large building.

"This is one of the many guilds in town. This is Samurott's guild," Wilfred said.

"Samurott?" Jason said.

"Yes," Wilfred said. "Let's go inside."

Both of them went through the building's entrance and they met two familiar faces.

"Wilfred!" Cindy greeted the Oshawott.

"Cindy! So you're on guard duty today?" Wilfred asked.

"Yeah! I and Elaine are on morning shift today," Cindy said with a smile.

"Anyway, where's Elaine?" Wilfred said and he suddenly felt a chill ran down his spine. He looked at his left and saw the Vulpix with an angry stare fixed on him.

"I was just here when you entered and you didn't notice me one bit?" Elaine angrily shouted in a fired-up state.

"I'm really sorry!" Wilfred apologized.

"You should be!" Elaine shouted.

"Sis, remember that we're on guard duty," Cindy said. "Anyway, how are you Jason? Remember anything more about yourself?"

Jason gave a negative response and looked around a bit. The lobby was quite large but there are only a few pokémon inside.

"Say, are you here to register as a team?" Cindy asked.

"No!" Wilfred quickly denied. "I'm just introducing the place."

"Yeah right," Elaine said.

"Look, I don't intend to form a team without the consult of the other pokémon concerned. Besides I'm not ready yet," Wilfred said.

"That's what you think," Elaine said.

"Wait a minute! Where's Jason?" Cindy asked.

The other two just also noticed that Jason was not nearby. All of them looked around and they saw Jason, who was staring at a board on the wall. Cindy and Wilfred went near Jason and watched him look at the board. Jason was just simply quiet while he looked at the board.

"Why are you looking at the exploration board?" Cindy finally asked after a couple of minutes.

"Aren't you on guard duty Cindy?" Wilfred said.

"Oh right," Cindy said. "I should return to my post."

Cindy went to her post but stopped after a second.

"Anyway, have you seen Mark?" Cindy asked.

"Saw him yesterday. Why did you ask?" Wilfred said.

"He and Mincy haven't returned to report yet," Cindy said.

"That's weird," Wilfred said. "Maybe they're just tired."

"Hope so," Cindy said. "See you later then."

Cindy went back to her post with Elaine. Then, Wilfred approached the board and faced Jason.

"This is the exploration board!" Wilfred said while he pointed at the board. "This is where exploration teams get most of their missions."

Then, Jason saw another board some feet away from where he was standing.

"And that's the rescue board, where rescue teams check most of their missions," Wilfred said as soon as he noticed Jason looking at the said board.

"What's the difference between exploration and rescue missions?" Jason suddenly asked.

"The name suggests what they are. Exploration missions involve dungeon exploration. Most of these are to retrieve something or check something. Sometimes, there are tag exploration missions. Tag explorations are categorized into two: partial and full dungeon exploration. There are also puzzles and riddles in some missions. In rescue missions, it usually concern two sides: the outlaw and another pokémon who are in need. When outlaws are involved, the main objective is to capture the outlaw. Of course, one must help the pokémon who needs help," Wilfred explained.

Jason studied the posts on both boards for a while. Then, he looked around and saw more boards at the other side of the lobby. Jason asked about it and Wilfred was happy to explain.

"These boards are request boards. If you want a certain team to do the job, you can put it on the team's request board. It is up to the team though if they will do it or not. It's also up to them when they'll do it," Wilfred explained.

Jason and Wilfred approached the request boards and the former checked the details. Some of the boards have huge plates containing words and all of those starts with the word 'Team'. He noticed one of the boards is full of requests. The plate above it said 'Team Lux'.

"There are lots of requests here," Jason thought aloud.

"That's because they're a famous team. They have achieved lots of things already," Wilfred said.

"They're a great team?" Jason asked.

"You can say that. Both of them are fearless and they helped each other out," Wilfred said. "They are the perfect combination."

The Snivy looked around curiously again, catching the eyes of some pokémon. He saw some stairs connected to the upper flow and he tried to go up but Wilfred stopped him.

"That area is restricted to members unless you have an official business. Don't go there so and we'll avoid some trouble," Wilfred said.

The Snivy just stood there while he stared at the stairs.

"Hey! Let us try walking around town. Maybe we can meet someone that might give us a clue," Wilfred said.

Jason gave a nod and both of them left the building. Wilfred led the way and Jason followed. After a while, they stopped by Vanillite's Ice Cream Shop and they bought the very same ice drops they had yesterday. Jason held his with both his arms and vines while he enjoyed eating the ice cream.

"Looks like you are getting used to using your vines," Wilfred commented.

"Yeah. It feels like I have an extra set of arms," Jason said.

"Good for you," Wilfred said and he took a bite out of his ice cream. Jason also did the same and he enjoyed the flavor. They continued eating their ice creams until it is all gone.

"Thanks," Jason suddenly said.

"For what?" Wilfred asked, confused.

"For everything," Jason said.

"O-okay," Wilfred was still confused.

"Wilfred!" someone shouted and both Jason and Wilfred turned around, where they saw a Dewott.

"C-Cath?" Wilfred said.

"Yep. How's my younger brother?" the Dewott asked.

"I'm fine," Wilfred said.

Then, the Dewott noticed Jason.

"Say, who is your new friend?" the Dewott asked.

"Oh! I almost forgot! This is Jason," Wilfred said. "Jason, this is my older sister, Catherine."

"Nice to meet you, Jason," Catherine offered her hand for a handshake. Jason extended his vine and accepted the Dewott's offer for a handshake.

"Wait a minute! You have a team already?" Cath said suddenly.

"Wait! No! I haven't formed a team yet," Wilfred said.

"Oh. I thought you already formed a team with Jason," Catherine said.

"I'm just helping him," Wilfred said.

"That's my brother. I'd better get going," Catherine said and left.

"See you soon, Cath!" Wilfred said.

"Right. See you later," Catherine said.

Catherine went past them and ran towards north. Wilfred noticed Jason, who was looking at the ground, and he snapped the Snivy out of his trance.

"Is she…" Jason said but paused.

"Is she what?" Wilfred asked.

"Never mind," Jason said.

"You sure have a lot of things to think of," Wilfred said.

Jason was silent for a minute and after that, he asked Wilfred something.

"Can we go back to Samurott's guild?" Jason asked.

"Why?" Wilfred said.

"I want to ask Cindy something," Jason said.

"Okay but we'll only stay there for a short while," Wilfred said.

Both of them went back to the guild and they met the fox duo by the entrance.

"You shall not pass!" Elaine said with a smirk to the Oshawott.

"Yeah right," Wilfred said. "Besides, we won't stay for too long."

"What makes you think so?" Elaine asked.

"Well, Jason is just going to ask Cindy something," Wilfred explained.

"Like what?" Elaine asked.

"Go up a floor and enter the room on the left," Cindy said.

"Thanks. Let's go Wilfred," Jason said and he entered the building.

"Shouldn't we go the other way around?" Wilfred said as he followed the Snivy. As Jason reached the stairs, he grabbed the handrail on the topmost step in the stairs with his vine and pulled himself up.

"Don't go there!" Wilfred shouted and he climbed up the stairs to go after the Snivy. When he reached the top, he saw no sign of Jason. Just then, he remembered what Cindy said.

"Is he really going to the guild master's quarters?" Wilfred thought aloud. Then, he entered the room on his left and he saw Jason talking with Samurott.

"Wilfred? What a surprise," the Samurott said.

"Dad, I'm quite surprised too," Wilfred said.

"Dad?" Jason said.

"Yes, he's my dad," Wilfred said.

"Anyway, let's get back to business," Wilfred's dad said.

"Right. Let's go Jason," Wilfred said.

"Go where? You are registering as a team, right?" the Samurott said.

Wilfred was shocked and he quickly reacted by saying, "What? N-no! I didn't say anything like that!"

"Your grass-type friend said it," the Samurott said.

"Jason? No way he'd do that, right?" Wilfred said.

"Why don't you ask him?" Wilfred's dad said.

"Is is true, Jason?" Wilfred asked the Snivy.

"Yes. I just want to thank you," Jason said.

"Thank me for what?" Wilfred asked, confused.

"For everything. You've helped me a lot ever since we met," Jason said. "I thought on how to repay you and joining a team with you is the best idea."

"But you don't have to do that, Jason," Wilfred said.

"But I can tell that you want to join a team. Your knowledge and excitement on these are signs. In addition, the others always mistake me as your teammate. Lastly, Cindy helped me confirm this," Jason said.

"Since when did you…" Wilfred said but paused for a bit and remembered something. Then, he said, "So that's why you talked to Cindy earlier."

"Wilfred, you have my consent on this. Besides, we might discover more about me if we work as a team," Jason said.

Wilfred just stood there and did not say a word. After a while, a tear escaped his eye.

"I don't know what to say," Wilfred said.

Jason went behind Wilfred and pushed him forward.

"Hey, stop it! I understand what you mean. I know what to do," Wilfred said to Jason, who then stopped pushing the Oshawott. Wilfred stepped forward and Jason did so afterwards.

"We would like to register as a team, guild master," Wilfred said.

The Samurott looked at them for a while before he smiled a bit.

"Son, I know that you are going to form a team someday but I didn't expect it to be with such a twist," Wilfred's dad said. He paused for a while and said, "Anyway, I can see that you two can work as a team. In fact, you already proved that you can do well as a team."

"What do you mean, dad?" Wilfred asked.

"You know the main goal of pokémon teams, right?" the Samurott said.

"To help pokémon in need," Wilfred said.

"Right. Both of you already did that," the Samurott said.

"I don't get it," Wilfred said.

"You helping Jason and he is helping you by forming a team with you. By the way, what are you helping him with?" the Samurott asked.

"Dad, I'll tell you later. It's a long story," Wilfred said.

"Okay. Anyway, I'll accept you into this guild," Wilfred's dad said.

"Alright!" Wilfred shouted aloud in joy.

"So, what kind of team? Exploration Team, Rescue Team or Ranger Squad?" the Samurott asked.

"Ranger Squad?" Jason, who is not familiar to the word, said.

"Oh. I almost forgot about that. A Ranger Squad is a special team where they both do exploration and rescue missions. These teams are expected to have high performance skills and they are the kind of team that mostly goes on special missions, most of which are dangerous," Wilfred explained to the Snivy.

"Then, can we be a Ranger Squad?" Jason said.

"What? Why?" Wilfred said in quite a shock.

"I can't decide between Exploration Team and Rescue Team. In addition, the fact that a Ranger Squad is a combination of the two, it'll save us some time from choosing on the other two," Jason said.

"Being a good Ranger Squad is hard, you know," Wilfred said.

"I think you can make a good team as a Ranger Squad," the Samurott commented.

"Are you serious dad?" Wilfred asked.

"Yes I am. Just have the confidence, son," the Samurott said.

"Alright. I'll agree just because you said so, dad," Wilfred said.

"Enough said. The last thing needed is the team name," the Samurott said.

"I totally forgot about the team name!" Wilfred said.

"I thought you already thought of one," Wilfred's dad said.

"None of those where appropriate," Wilfred said.

"Okay. Just take your time," the Samurott said.

"Jason, can you help me think of a good team name?" Wilfred said.

"Sure," Jason said.

"Now, what name will fit us," Wilfred thought aloud.

"Team name…" Jason said.

Just then, Jason's head started to hurt.

"I know! Team Nexus!" Jason heard.

"Team Nexus?" Jason said while he pressed his vines against his head.

"What does 'Nexus' even mean, Jason?" Wilfred said. Then, the Oshawott looked at the Snivy and Wilfred noticed that Jason is not feeling well.

"I'm… fine," Jason said while he paused for a while and removed his vines from his head.

"I think you should go to a medic. You look like you're not feeling well," Wilfred said.

"You don't need do," Jason said.

"But you've been acting strange since yesterday," Wilfred said.

"What about the team name? I heard someone say 'Team Nexus'," Jason said.

"Huh? You're the only one who said that," Wilfred said.

Jason was confused after what Wilfred said. Jason thought about it for a while and he said, "I'm sure someone said it before I did."

"Maybe you're just daydreaming. Anyway, what does 'Nexus' means? " Wilfred said.

Jason went silent and thought about what Wilfred said.

'What does 'Nexus' mean? I…' Jason thought. Suddenly, his head started to hurt again. He placed his vines against his head and Wilfred noticed this.

"Jason, are you alright?" Wilfred asked.

"Connections," Jason heard.

"Nexus—is about connections," Jason suddenly said.

Then, Jason starts to sway while looking at the ground.

"Jason? Jason! Can you hear me?" Wilfred said.

Then, the Snivy collapsed into the ground.


End file.
